3-year-olds
Can identify shapes (circles, squares, and triangles)
Group objects together such as the same shape, the same size, or the same color
Learn to count numbers from 1 to 10
Understands first and last
Complete simple puzzles
Begins to understand cause and effect
4-year-olds
Learn to count numbers from 1 to 20
Begins to recognize and create patterns
Estimating, or guessing, the number of objects that are in a set.
Notice same and different (shape, size, color, length, and height)
Understand number order (1,2,3 etc)
Begins using addition (1 apple + 2 apples = 3 apples)
5-year-olds
Understands basic time concepts like morning or days of the week
Follow multi-step directions that use words like first and next
Copy or draw shapes
Count by 10s
Add by counting on fingers or using items up to 10 (ex. legos, blocks)
Add to a pattern (ex. colors, shapes)
Recognize numbers up to 20
Ways to support your child Link to this section
Count out loud, so your children can hear the sequence of numbers and notice how often you use counting in your day.
When you make a phone call, let your children help you dial the number. This will help them recognize numbers.
Play comparing games with your child (height, size, and shapes) When there are two piles of blocks—one with three and one with four blocks—you can ask your child, “Do you want the bigger or the smaller pile of blocks?” or, “Do you want three blocks or four blocks?”
Call out the names of shapes around you: “That sign is a triangle. It says, ‘yield’.”
Shopping, cooking, and eating provide many opportunities for counting:
“Shall we get 4 apples or 5? Can you count them for me as I put them in the bag?”
“We have 3 bags of groceries. Do you think they will all fit in our car?”
Use items or toys at home to practice positional words: “Can you put the bear in the closet, under the chair, on the pillow?” (On, in, outside, inside, over, under, next to, beside, in front of, behind and between)
This page was last updated on February 7, 2024